“America’s Finest City-The Beautiful Game”

-0-

Everybody said the right thing. Now we wait to see if San Diego’s leadership can do the right thing.

Approve the initiative to move forward to build the 200M MLS soccer-Aztecs Stadium at Qualcomm, and give the development rights to “FS Investors” to begin the process of building out that land.

The pep rally on board the USS-Midway was impressive. City leadership was there to support the investment group. MLS Commissioner Don Garber was there to extoll the virtues of the San Diego market and the border relationship with Tijuana.

Much was made of the potential of the bi-city market. The ability to create synergy with Liga Mexico and the XOLOs team.

Landon Donovan, the LA Galaxy and the World Cup hero was there to talk about his career, and what it means to have grown up in MLS, and the stepping stone it provided to him to go abroad to Germany, and then come back and lead Team USA to new heights.

The competition will be stiff. San Diego is one of 12-teams bidding for the 2-expansion sights. Detroit’s offer is backed by Palace Sports, owners of the Pistons. The Tampa Bay Rowdies bid came from the same people who were part of the glory days of the NASL. St. Louis has great hockey tradition, and a wide open market with limited competition. Overcrowded Phoenix wants in. So does Charlotte, mid level-Sacramento and others.

But more than anything, San Diego seems right, financially, geographically, aesthetically.

Pele is not coming across the Coronado Bridge though. The English Premeir League teams like Manchester United and Chelsea won’t be on the schedule.

But knowing how popular the Columbus Crew and Chicago Fire are in their respective towns, shows the potential of how markets can emotionally link themselves to the MLS brand.

I don’t know if SD-SC, San Diego Soccer City, can rival what the Seattle Sounders and Portland Timber have become, but the potential is here to become something special.

Julie Veee and Bronco Segota and Ron Newman was a long time ago. The San Diego Sockers were spectacular in their time and space.

If timing were everything, then the vacancy created in this market has made this the right time and right place for an expansion team, because of the Chargers defection.

Now we wait to see if the Beautiful Game can play here in the beautiful weather. We wait to see if this mayor, that city council, can convert this corner kick of ideas to start the development of the Q-sight.

San Diego. Will it make this penalty kick and score, or do they wind up taking a Red Card?

Please follow and like us: